'Too posh to push' births under fire

Women should be barred from agreeing to elective caesareans for lifestyle rather than medical reasons, according to a survey of mothers' opinions for a leading pregnancy charity.

In a study of nearly 2,000 mothers, carried out by the baby charity Tommy's to launch National Pregnancy Week, seven out of 10 said that those women often described as being 'too posh to push' should not have the right to the procedure. Last night the charity agreed with the results of the survey, saying that the 'major abdominal surgery' should never be offered as a lifestyle choice.

Claire Friars, who runs Tommy's pregnancy information line, said: 'We believe that unless there are medical risk factors or complications involved, a caesarean section should not be performed for lifestyle reasons alone.'

The debate has flared up as thousands of women are emulating celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Liz Hurley, who both paid to give birth privately by caesarean. While the vast majority of women who have the operation need it for medical reasons, more than 10,000 caesareans a year are carried out purely out of maternal choice.

Obstetricians admit that 'articulate women' from higher social classes tend to have more clout when it comes to deciding on the operation. It also depends on the hospitals, because NHS guidelines on caesarians are not clear-cut.

However, Ms Friars added that women who thought it was an easy option were misguided. 'Having a caesarean is not, as many women believe, a "simpler, easier option",' she said.

'It involves major abdominal surgery and the increased risks include an increased chance of rupture of the uterus in future pregnancies. During the operation itself, there is an increased risk of severe bleeding.'

But experts pointed out that a planned caesarean is much safer than an emergency one. Pat O'Brien, a consultant obstetrician at the University College London Hospitals, said: 'The guidelines lump together emergency and elective caesarean section when comparing pros and cons and it is a completely invalid thing to do.

'On purely medical arguments there is no doubt that from the mother's point of view, a vaginal delivery is the least risky. But what is clear is that the risk to the mother of an elective ceasarian and a vaginal delivery is not much and it is getting less,'O'Brien added.